Roughly one in ten American households has a net worth of $1 million or more, according to Federal Reserve survey data, and a bit more than that if you count individual adults using other estimates. If you’ve ever wondered how many Americans have a networth of 1 million, the short answer is: more than you’d think, but far fewer than half. The details depend on whose data you use and what you count as wealth.
How many Americans have a networth of 1 million: the main numbers
The Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances, last released in 2023 and covering 2022, is the best-known source for household wealth in the US. It reports that the median household net worth was about $190,000, and the average was much higher, around $1 million, because a small group of very rich households pulls the average up. In that survey, somewhere around 10 to 11 percent of households had a net worth above $1 million, though the exact share depends on how the data is sliced.
Other organizations count people instead of households. UBS’s Global Wealth Report has estimated that the United States has more than 20 million millionaires, meaning adults with net worth over $1 million, which is the largest total of any country. Those studies use different methods, so the numbers don’t match exactly. It’s normal to see ranges.
What counts as net worth here
Net worth is everything you own minus everything you owe. For most millionaires, that includes:
- The value of their primary home, minus the mortgage.
- Retirement accounts like 401(k)s and IRAs.
- Savings, brokerage accounts and other investments.
- Business ownership.
- Other real estate, vehicles and valuable possessions.
Notably, a large share of the millionaires counted in these studies are not people with huge incomes. Many are people with paid-off homes and decades of retirement savings.
Why a million feels different than it used to
A million dollars sounds like a fortune, but it’s worth less than it was a generation ago because of inflation. A person who had $1 million in 1990 would need well over $2 million today to have the same buying power. That’s one reason the number of millionaires has grown over time. It’s also why many people with a million-dollar net worth don’t feel particularly rich, especially if most of it is tied up in a home and retirement accounts they can’t touch for years.
Who tends to cross the line
The Federal Reserve data shows some clear patterns, which also apply to anyone asking how many Americans have a networth of 1 million:
- Age. Wealth rises with age. Households headed by people in their late 50s through their 70s are most likely to be millionaires.
- Homeownership. Owners have far higher net worth than renters, on average.
- Education. Households with a college degree or more tend to have higher wealth.
- Business ownership. Self-employed households are overrepresented among the wealthiest.
Younger households are much less likely to be millionaires, since they’ve had less time to save, invest and pay down debt.
How you compare
If your net worth is under $1 million, you’re in the majority. If it’s near the median, you’re in the middle. The median is a better comparison for a typical household than the average, which is skewed by billionaires. If you want a sense of where you stand for your age, look at the Federal Reserve’s tables by age group, since a 30-year-old with $100,000 is in a different spot than a 60-year-old with the same amount.
Getting to $1 million
There’s no secret formula, but the building blocks are fairly consistent. People often reach it through a combination of steady retirement contributions, paying down their mortgage, home price appreciation over time, and staying invested through market ups and downs. For example, saving a few hundred dollars a month for several decades, with typical long-run market returns, can grow into a large sum, but results depend on returns, fees and behavior. Nothing is guaranteed.
A few caveats
- Survey data lags. The most recent big Federal Reserve survey is for 2022, and wealth has shifted since then with changes in stock and housing markets.
- Surveys can undercount the very wealthy.
- Different reports define households, adults and net worth in slightly different ways.
This is general information, not financial advice.
Bottom line: about one in ten US households, and over 20 million adults, have crossed the million-dollar line, as of the most recent estimates. The figure will keep changing as markets and home values move.
